music, therapy, and me

It is finally here. The last day before Winter Break. It is also the last Holiday Sing that I will lead as music therapist at my current job. I may be involved in other holiday concerts in my future, but not at my current job. This is it! I am exhausted, but hopeful that I can get through it and then collapse into sleep without stress for the rest of the day. My last two groups are cancelled due to the  Sing, so I have two more groups to lead before I am done being a therapist for 2025!! This is manageable. I need a shower and some somewhat festive clothing that will accommodate getting onto the floor with some of my students. After my sessions, I will spend some time getting my playlist, amplifier, and microphone setup before heading into the world of Sing time. Santa is coming during the dance party part of the Sing. That should throw everything off the rails, but it is something that we can do to help our students and our staff through a rough month. In addition to the usual hol...

Okay. It is crunch time now. Fifteen days between us and winter break. Let me tell you, folks, working with children this time of year is not for the faint-hearted! There is just not enough time, energy, or words to explain what happens in schools between Thanksgiving and winter holidays. If you have never worked in a school during this time, then kindly just nod your head in sympathy when a school teacher or therapist expresses their levels of exhaustion and/or overwhelm. My week started with a horrible day - all of my clients were disgruntled and snarly. The week has progressed into more kind conversations and emotional expressions, but the noise level in the class next door is very loud - which is very unusual! We are having constant shifts in classroom composition both with students and with staff members, and we no longer communicate these changes with all school staff members. I have not had the expected staff members in most of my sessions this week. That changes how I do things...

There are nineteen days between now and the end of the work month for me. Fifteen of those days are work days, and I am getting ready for the last winter break of my career (probably). This is a year of lasts for me. I will be retiring from my current job and transitioning into another role as a music therapy professional at the end of my contract year. This is my last December as a school-based music therapist, and I am both happy and nostalgic about it all. If you know anyone who works in school settings, then you know that this is one of the most difficult times of the year - in ANY school. In my school, things are compounded by it being a residential and day setting for children, adolescents, and young adults who have significant developmental and psychiatric symptomology. Amplify the usual pre-holiday excitement with trauma backgrounds and the uncertainty of family involvement and you get the miasma that my students bring to their music therapy sessions this time of year. Meanwhil...

For those of you not in the "School-Based Therapist" know, ESY stands for "Extended School Year" and means that I have to work summer school whether I want to or not. Today is the last day of our ESY session, and I am more than ready. After tomorrow's  "progress note" day, we have 12 days before we have to report back to start the regular school year. I have one medical appointment, but that is the only obligation that I have for break. Other than that, I plan on working on my library and that is about it other than my usual self-care stuff. I have three groups today because there is an all-school movie during the last group time. Someone walked into my room yesterday to actually test the temperature and to tell me that there was someone else showing up to evaluate the computer system that controls the temperature. They interrupted a group session, but I am happy that someone is actually acting like they are doing something. Only three groups to run in...

Okay, I have officially started my winter break countdown because I have two weeks from today that the Holiday Sing has to happen for my clients. I am not going to be in playing shape by then because the hand specialist has not called me yet so I can't start rehabilitation until that happens. So, I have to figure out how to accompany our singing this year where I cannot play the guitar and I'm not able to trust that my intern will be able to provide us with appropriate accompaniment. So, it is time to get creative and see if I can find karaoke versions of many of our songs to help us with singing.  Tonight is the start of all the extra things that happen during this week - our Angel Tree Service of Remembrance. It is also the annual holiday party at work - something I do not engage in because I have to provide student services during the "party" time and because I cannot eat anything in the facility without knowing where it is produced. (I have a strange infection tha...